Bright Lights
by Mr.Stavros
Summary: Jamie is hurt as all of his friends around him seem to be growing up and he can't seem to shake his strong belief in the guardians. Jack is left as his only real friend and he can't seem to decide if he wants more than that.
1. Chapter 1

So, defiantly more chapters to come for this story, Critiquing is much appreciated, stay lovely ;)

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Jamie sat alone against an oak tree who's leaves were beginning to wither from its branches as they always did around early November. The chilly air blew around him, causing his eyes to burn even more. As he finally stopped trying to hold out, the streams of cold tears began to trickle down his face. He cried at the loss of yet another friend, this time it was one of his closest, Pippa, a girl who was slowly growing into a beautiful young woman, and felt that Jamie's belief in the guardians had grown to be something of fantasy that kept him from ever really growing up. _"Jamie, you need to stop living in a dreamland." _She had told him sternly, _"How can you expect anyone to listen to you when all that you ever talk about are childhood legends who no one can see but you?"_ The words tore Jamie to pieces as his closest friend had turned to walk away, leaving him in the cold, alone with a broken heart.

Jamie quickly tried to compose himself as he heard the sound of someone coming, but couldn't see where the noises were coming from. He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked around suspiciously waiting for the passerby to walk away. He waited quietly for a moment, and just when he was about to dismiss the noises as a squirrel or the wind, a giant ball of snow fell from above, landing right on top of Jamie's head, covering him in snow. He jumped up and his eyes shot up into the tree above him. There he saw the one being on earth that he really cared to see at the moment.

"Jack!" Jamie cried out, as the white-haired boy leaped from the branch he was standing on and landed gracefully on the ground.

"Hey kiddo." Jack said playfully, barley finishing his sentence before Jamie nearly knocked him to the ground with a big hug. Jack laughed and wrapped his arms around the boy who was now equal to him in height, but had broader shoulders and larger biceps, Jamie had grown into his body exceptionally well at sixteen years old. As Jack pulled away a bit to look at Jamie's face, he saw something that he didn't see often, but he knew all to well; hurt.

"Jamie, whats wrong?" Jack asked, his joyful expression turning to one of concern. Jamie looked away, trying to the devastation in his face. "It's nothing." He said unconvincingly, "I just haven't had a very good day." He admitted after a moment. Jack had a good guess about what had happened. Though he didn't like admitting it to himself, Jamie was growing increasingly unpopular due to his continuing belief in the guardians which most teenagers found strange. Even the few who had helped the guardians to defeat Pitch seemed to have forgotten about their existence. Jamie, however, still kept his belief strong, and his light shined brighter on North's globe than most of the younger children of the world.

"C'mon, tell me what happened." He said with a reassuring smile as he sat Jamie back on the ground. Jamie sighed, "I lost another friend today." He said, affirming Jack's suspicions, "They all think I'm crazy, Jack, for still believing in you, in all of the guardians. They stopped seeing you when we're together, so I just look like a crazy person talking and laughing to myself… They all think I need to grow up." Jack looked away, not being able to help blaming himself for coming to see Jamie as often as he did. "Jamie… If you want me to-" Jack started to say, before being cut off, "No. There's nothing I want you to do." He said sternly, "I want you around forever. If you left, I still wouldn't be able to forget about you. I know it, Jack. I know that you and all the other guardians think that one day I'll stop believing, but I'm sure that I won't. There's a part of me that I just don't think will ever die."

Jack had a feeling that Jamie may be right. He had already surpassed the age at which most kids stopped believing, and even the other guardians, who didn't know Jamie anywhere near the level that Jack did, felt there was something very different about Jamie from the other older kids who still believed. North had even started referring to him as "The Brightest Light", referencing Jamie's spot on the globe. "Jamie… I'm just… so sorry." Jack murmured after a moment of deep thought.

"Don't be, Jack." Jamie replied, "You're a better friend than I could ever hope for. Even when everyone around me doesn't understand, you're always there to cheer me up." Jack blushed, and remembered all of the times that he was able to lift Jamie's spirits with an unexpected snow day or simply listening to what he had to say, something that had become a rarity to Jamie.

Jack stood up and held his hand out to Jamie, "C'mon then," He said lightheartedly, "We've got some cheering up to do." Jack smirked, and Jamie gave him a half-smile before taking the hand offered to him. Almost immediately, Jack sprung up into the air, with Jamie holding onto him for dear life. Jack flew gracefully through the air, creating beautiful arrays of colorful ice and puffs of snow that made Jamie's eyes glisten, forgetting about the heartache that he felt only moments ago. Jack quickly turned the chilly scenery of the clearing in the woods into a beautiful wonderland of snow and ice that always caused Jamie amazement no matter how many times Jack did it. Jamie's giggles made Jack feel better about his own fears of isolating Jamie from the rest the world. Jack finished with a large wave of snow in the air that closely resembled the northern lights in the now setting sun, before returning the both of them back to earth.

Jamie laughed and gave Jack another hug, "Thank you, Jack." He said with a big smile, before pulling away from him. Jamie looked into Jack's eyes, and Jack's brow furrowed, trying to decipher what his expression meant. In that moment, Jamie felt slightly overcome with a strong feeling towards Jack that he couldn't put his finger on. Without thinking, Jamie leaned in and put his lips on Jack's, being exhilarated by the chilly feeling that came over him. Jack's face stayed in the same confused position that it was in before. Jamie stayed like that for just long enough that the kiss couldn't be considered a peck, but pulled away before Jack could figure out exactly what was happening. The two stared at each other for a moment, Jack's eyes growing wider, and Jamie gaining a look of concern as he realized what he had done.

"S-Sorry." Jamie murmured, trying to say something to fill the air besides pure awkwardness, "I was just…just caught up in the moment…" He now barely whispered before turning around to walk away as quickly as possible back in the direction of his house, leaving Jack alone for the realizations about what had really just happened to sink in.

Everything in Jack's conscience was screaming for him to dart after Jamie, but he simply couldn't bring his legs to move.

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JACK DO SOMETHING! Haha, watch out for the next chapter soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow. I had no idea how big this fandom had become so quickly haha. Enjoy chapter 2.

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Jack sat in the same spot where Jamie had left him nearly two hours ago now, pondering what that kiss (and Jamie) meant to him, and what he could do about it. _"Surely Jamie must be heartbroken…" _He thought anxiously to himself. He pictured Jamie in his room, feeling lost and rejected by two people today now. He scowled at the thought, hoping that Jamie was not taking his absence as sign that Jack hated him. Jack knew that he had to go say something to him, but he didn't want to make an even bigger mess of the situation by not being able to form a proper sentence. How could he tell Jamie that he didn't return his feelings without breaking his heart? _"Unless… maybe I do…"_ Jack didn't want to complete that thought, but for the entire time he sat there, desperate to give some type of response to Jamie's affection, that's all he was really ever able to come back to. Jack finally gave into himself and pictured himself with Jamie. In his arms. Holding his hand. _Kissing him again._ Growing old with him… Jack's heart broke at that thought. Jamie would continue to grow old and Jack would be the same forever, immortally a teenager. Jack couldn't shake the thought of watching Jamie on his deathbed, while he still looked the same way that he did now. The thought made his stomach turn. He knew that this would be the sole excuse that Jack could give for not returning Jamie's feelings.

The white-haired boy stood up finally with a look of distress prominent on his face. He knew that he had to do something, and though he seemed to have less of an idea now as to what that was than he did hours ago, he knew he had to do it quickly.

Meanwhile, Jamie sat on his window sill, staring up into the clear night sky, regretting what he had done and praying that Jack would not hate him because of it. Jamie desperately tried to figure out what pushed him to kiss Jack in the first place, but he knew the answer deep down, he always had. His feelings for Jack had evolved over the years into something new entirely. The brotherly bond that they had shared in the past had slowly broken down without Jack's knowledge as Jamie matured, and saw Jack in a new way. He tried to keep it buried within the deep confines of his conscience, but feeling that way about someone who was so close… The feelings would find their way out eventually.

A part of Jamie wanted Jack to stay away forever, to avoid the confrontation, and keep the little dignity he had left. But more than anything, Jamie wished that Jack would return his feelings. He knew that it couldn't be so, yet he had the special gift (or in this case, curse) of never fully giving up hope, even when all hope seemed to be lost. This made him think that he must have been hallucinating when he saw Jack poke his head up from the bottom of his window. Jamie quickly opened the window to let Jack in, startling the spirit.

"Jack I'm so sorry!" Jamie uttered before Jack was barely inside, "It was wrong of me to do that. I didn't mean to make you mad or upset. I was just caught up in the moment with you, and I wasn't having a very good day, and just needed a bit of comfort, and then you showed up and made everything better…and…and it was so miraculous and thoughtful and-"

Jack put his hands on Jamie's shoulders, "Jamie. Calm down." Jack said with a smile, "It's okay, I'm not mad at you at all."

Jamie exhaled deeply, and gave Jack a hug. Jack returned the favor (though he was noticeably more cautious than usual). "It's just, you've stuck by me for so long, and I just couldn't help but start to feel more towards you than just friendship. And it's okay that you don't feel the same way…" Jamie paused (unintentionally at the worst point that he could).

Jack looked at Jamie, trying to conjure up words to say, "I… that's not true." Jack said, his eyes widening at the realization at what he just said.

"W-what?" Jamie asked nervously.

Jack sighed. "Jamie… I don't really know what I feel." A blush ran across Jack's face at the realization of how cheesy he sounded, "I mean, I feel like I do more harm to you than good."

Jamie, instantly knowing what Jack meant, darted over to Jack and looked him dead in the eyes, "I told you already. You don't. Jack, if I didn't want you around then you would have disappeared by now. I wouldn't be able to see you anymore." Jamie started, sounding more assured in himself, "Why do you think that I have never once told you to leave me alone, or denied playing a game even when I feel like crying? I…I love you, Jack, and whatever meaning that love takes on, however it has evolved, it has always been there, even before I even knew you were real, as I look back at all the memories you made for me, I loved you then too."

Jack was stunned by the sheer amount of passion Jamie invoked in his words, and in that moment, Jack realized something. There was no way that he didn't feel something beyond the realm of friendship for Jamie. He didn't know when or why exactly, but some time since Jamie first saw Jack, his feelings for Jamie had evolved into something new as well. "I…I love you too." Jack whispered, confessing as much to himself as he was to Jamie. Jamie's eyes lit up in surprise, "R-really?" He asked, following Jack's gaze intently. "I…think so…" Jack felt as though his lips were not moving, that his thoughts were instead flying out of his head into the air, "I don't know what I should do, or how to deal with it, but I think I feel the same way…"

Jamie looked shocked, believing that Jack was playing some cruel joke on him or that this was a dream that he would wake up from. The two stood there for a moment, processing what had just happened.

"Okay." Jack said simply, causing Jamie to give him a confused look. Jack saw this, realizing he needed to elaborate a bit, "We can try, but I don't want to dive into it right away."

Jamie's face was full of disbelief. "You mean…we can try… being… together?" He asked nervously.

Jack smiled. "Yeah. I guess that's what I mean." He shook his head, still not believing he was really saying these things.


	3. Chapter 3

So this story probably would have utterly busted if it weren't for this image: image/39169581451 (on tumblr) The chapter is heavily inspired by the picture, and the artist is lovely (yes I got permission). Enjoy!

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"The night was dark, and cold as the boy stepped into the woods." Jack began, creating several snowflakes to visually set the scene for Jamie, "The snow started to fall more heavily, blocking his view, and blowing in his face." Jack imitated this action at Jaime's face, making him laugh. "Little did he know," Jack went on, "He was being followed by… The Ice Demon!" Jack quickly conjured up what he thought was a terrifying looking face out of the snow that was swirling around the two underneath the sheets of Jamie's bed. Jamie shined the flashlight on the mask, chuckling at how cliché the demonic face looked. "The ice demon was known for luring unsuspecting children into the forest and turning them completely to ice!" Jack wore an evil grin as he swirled the snow throughout the small tent-like structure, "The ice demon silently approached the boy… and reached out a menacing hand… the boy slowly turned around and-"

"Jack, tune down the special effects for a bit." Jamie cut him off with an apologetic face, "It's cold."

"Whoops." Jack looked around with a smirk, noticing how Jamie was shivering and his breath was easily visible, "I get a bit carried away sometimes."

Jamie laughed, "All of your stories are about ice."

Jack blushed an looked away, "Hey what do you expect? It's all that I've been able to do for over three hundred years…"

Jamie quickly took advantage of Jack's inattentiveness an leaned over to give him a quick peck on the lips. Jack's blush deepened, as he turned so that Jamie couldn't see his face with the flashlight. He should have gotten used to Jamie's random showings of affection, seeing that it had been more than a week since the confrontation, but he just couldn't bring himself to think of their blurred friendship as normal quite yet. Jamie, however, had no trouble constantly reaffirming his feelings towards Jack with kisses and embraces that, while seeming to make Jack uncomfortable on the surface, he obviously enjoyed to some extent, never asking Jamie to stop. Jack turned and stepped out of the chilly atmosphere that he created and into Jamie's room, leaving Jamie alone underneath his sheets with his flashlight.

Jamie poked his head out after a moment. "Jack, what's wrong?" He asked, sounding slightly hurt. The white-haired spirit stood at Jamie's window, looking up to the moon, as if asking for an answer that he knew he wouldn't get (as usual).

"I'm just… not exactly used to this sort of thing," Jack said awkwardly, having not addressed the situation since the night after Jamie first kissed him, "I mean, I've barely gotten used to people even acknowledging my existence, let alone…" Jack blushed, letting Jamie complete the sentence for himself. Jamie felt disappointed in himself for not seeing the real reason behind Jack's distance.

"Jack… I didn't mean to…" Jamie started, but trailed off.

"No, Jamie, It's nothing you did," Jack said softly, turning around to look at Jamie, "I want this to work too, I'm just not sure how to go about it… I've become so absorbed in the idea that I would be alone until the end of time that it's hard for me to grasp that what's happening to us is even… real." Jamie's eyes were wide, fixed on Jack's face. The statement came as a shock to the boy, usually only hearing lighthearted, simple words from Jack. He had never expected Jack to think so deeply before. The two looked at each other, as though trying to see something that they were blind to. Then, as if all at once, Jack approached Jamie, and put his hands on the boys shoulders, "Maybe if I just…" Jack whispered softly, before lowering himself down to Jamie's level. He gazed into Jamie's face for a few seconds before swiftly pressing his lips into the speechless teen's. Jamie's eyes were wide in shock, as Jack had never been the one to make advance's, and none of the slight romantic encounters that they had felt very passionate like this, if not downright awkward.

Jamie closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Jack, pulling him closer so that their bodies touched. Both of them shivered at the dramatic difference in temperature in each others bodies. Jamie ran one hand lightly over Jack's neck, while running the other through his soft white hair as the kiss became more intense. Jack's lips parted slightly, and Jamie took full advantage, moving his tongue to explore the others mouth with a force that seemed almost desperate. Jack cautiously moved his hands to Jamie's neck, pulling him in, trying to get impossibly closer to him. Jamie ran his teeth over Jack's freezing lips, eliciting a soft moan from the spirit. Jamie smiled, pulling away slightly to take in a breath of air. Both pairs of eyes opened, looking at each other with a new sense of closeness. The two took in heavy breaths of air, feeling almost dizzy from the lack of oxygen to their heads.

"I… don't suppose you want to finish your story now." Jamie said with a Smirk.

Jack laughed, and playfully pushed Jamie back so the two fell back onto the bed, barely avoiding toppling to the floor. The two tossed and turned for a while, in a strange sort of rotation of passion and playfulness until both drifted off to sleep, Jack's arms wrapped around Jamie.


	4. Chapter 4

Hereeee's chapter 4 :)

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Jack glided through the air over the small towns somewhere near Toronto, creating beautiful patterns of ice which fell to the ground as snowflakes. The sun had only just risen in this part of North America, and Jack looked on as the streams of golden sand slowly began to whisk away out of children's windows as they woke. He then saw the tiny Golden man glide by on a cloud of sand, waving to Jack as he passed. Jack waved back, suddenly having a feeling of guilt overcome him. He had such an easy job, even as a guardian. All that he really had to do was create a few unexpected snow days and entertain children with subtle images of animals in the sky. After that, nature took care of most aspects of winter on its own. The other guardians always had something to do, always busy with a list of duties that would never really end. They rarely had any time to spend enjoying themselves or even speak to each other. Jack felt very thankful for the time that he was able to spend with Jamie the night before, and that he was even able to see him off to school earlier that morning.

Jack decided to go see tooth as soon as he finished with his short list of tasks, and that he would try to visit with the other guardians as well during the day. He finished coating some of the southern Canadian villages in a thick blanket of snow before beginning the journey to Tooth's Palace. Being that the floating palace was located over Asia, Jack was a bit discomforted by the mild Summer heat that had taken most of the continent. He smiled as he saw the unmistakable Building in the sky, and began to encounter Mini Fairies, who greeted him kindly as he approached. As Jack entered the castle he noticed that, as usual, Tooth was so busy checking the teeth that the Mini Fairies brought back to her to notice Jack, even when he landed mere feet from her. It took Baby Tooth bugging her for a moment before she finally snapped out of her work mode to notice the icy spirit standing behind her.

"Jack!" She gasped, quickly flying over to give him a hug, "What are you doing here? Is something wrong."

Jack chuckled, "No, I just figured you could use a bit of company. You don't get much, after all." He said with a thoughtful smile.

"That's so sweet of you!" The fairy said excitedly, "I have been a bit lonely lately…" She trailed off, before her eyes shot up, "Oh! That reminds me." She quickly buzzed over to a wall which contained the teeth of some of the children, Jack following behind curiously. Tooth pulled out a container with the face of a young girl with two blonde pigtails and glasses. "She's growing up, going through the rough and confusing times of being a teenager. Not to mention her parents are in the middle of a rough divorce…" Tooth said, eyes fixed on the face of the little girl, "I figured she could use a flashback to better days." She ran a slender hand over the surface of the capsule, causing it to light up brightly. Jack smiled, picturing the girl escaping her troubled thoughts for memories of her childhood. "So, what's been going on with you?" Tooth's eyes shot up to look at Jack, not wanting to dwell on the sad situation with the young girl.

"Not a whole lot, still getting used to being a guardian." Jack lied. Tooth could see this, and gave him a suspicious look.

"I see. Nothing out of the ordinary? Nothing you want to talk about?" Tooth questioned, much to Jack's embarrassment, a soft blush crossing his cheeks, "Ah! See, I can tell. C'mon, you obviously wanted to talk about it if you came all the way to the other side of the world." Jack thought about this for a moment. Maybe that was the real reason he wanted to go see the other guardians. To get input from someone else on his strange new relationship.

Jack sighed, "Well… I think that I've started… seeing… someone." He found it difficult figure out what to call the strange stage that Jamie and him had reached. A slight frown crossed Tooth's face, a bit surprised and slightly hurt due to her own small crush on Jack. She quickly put on a smile though, not wanting to keep Jack from speaking, "Oh, well, who?" She asked, unable to think of any female immortals aside from herself.

Jack gazed at her for a moment, wondering if he could really trust her. He quickly realized, however, that he didn't have very much to lose besides a bit of respect from the other guardians, "Well… um… Jamie…" Jack said softly. There was a pause. Not only was Tooth a bit shocked that Jack was interested in other men, but a mortal, nonetheless.

"Jack… Don't you think that that's a bit… dangerous?" Tooth said, with a look of concern, "I mean, he'll grow up. Even if he does have feelings for you, that may not be enough to stop him from… forgetting." Jack shuddered at the thought, a terrible scene playing in his head where he cried out Jamie's name, but the boy ignored him, unable to sense when he was around any longer.

"I just… I don't know. There are so many things wrong with it, but after he kissed me, I was just so overcome with all of these feelings that I never knew I had. I know it sounds crazy, but I just feel so complete when I'm around him. He makes me feel almost… warm." Jack felt very cliché, but couldn't seem to put his words together in a better way.

Tooth stared at him, an indecisive look on her face, before giving a sad smile, "If he makes you happy, then I guess that's what really counts." The words sounded sincere, "I just don't want to see you getting hurt, or Jamie for that matter." Jack analyzed her words, trying to spot any bluffs about what she claimed to feel. He found none, seeing that Tooth was always someone to speak her mind.

"Thank you, Tooth, for listening." Jack said with a smile, "I think I need to go now." He put his arms around the fairy, as if to say goodbye.

"Bye, Jack." She said softly, looking into his eyes, "Just… be careful." Jack smirked, reassuring Tooth with an expression that she recognized from the pale spirit. He glided out of the palace, many of the Mini Fairies waving goodbye to him as he flew away. Tooth watched him as he moved quickly out of sight, a worried expression on her face.

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Look out for some drama in chapter 5, which may not be up until tuesday depending on my schedule...


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